2001 626 White Smoke, Awful Smell Not Overheating

[drrocket0302]

I have a 2001 Mazda 626 and on my way to work this morning it started smelling really bad (i think it was the smell of oil burning but I'm not sure) and then white smoke started pouring out from under the hood. I pulled off the road and when I turned it off a ton of smoke came out. When I looked under the hood the smoke was coming out from the front of the engine. My car isnt overheating and all the gauges seem normal. A couple of years ago I had a simialr problem and it turned out the my oil filter had fallen off and oil had spilled all over the engine. Does this sound like the same thing or something more serious? Also, would I be risking serious damage to the car if I were to drive it home from work this evening? Thanks for the help.